


Borrowed Bunkbeds

by ghostqueennotmean



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Grandparents & Grandchildren, I mean grandpa is canonically dead by the time you get the farm???, Mentions of Grandpa (Stardew Valley), Minor Injuries, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Trans Male Character, farming, monster fighting, no duh it is STARDEW, previous character death, stardew needs more tags, uhhhhhhhh what else what else
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27211348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostqueennotmean/pseuds/ghostqueennotmean
Summary: Marlon, through his years of adventures, had seen many fighters felled by unseen monsters. He'd seen them collapse through passages they'd been too bullheaded to properly investigate, and witnessed men and women alike tremble in fear as their once-limitless stores of ill-gotten confidence finally ran dry at the worst possible times Through years upon years of battle and exploration, he now wore his apathy with pride....that is, until the farmer from down the road collapsed through the door within an inch of his life for the third time this week. That... was something else.
Relationships: Marlon & Farmer (Stardew Valley), Marlon & Gil (Stardew Valley), Marlon & Male Player (Stardew Valley)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 36





	Borrowed Bunkbeds

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!!!! This is my piece I wrote for "From Grandpa's Farm", which is a Stardew Valley OC zine. We've gotten permission to post our pieces, and I've been super excited to show y'all what I made!!  
> Please consider taking a look at the zine!! It's free to download, and there's loads of gorgeous art and beautiful fic in there!! I hope you enjoy!!!

Marlon was a man of many years and many scars. He’d fought his way through waves of the most fearsome monsters, clambered down into the very depths of the darkest cave systems, and seen the most beautiful corners of the world. Sunrises, sunsets, and sceneries that defied imagination. He’d seen men, women, and everyone in between bloody and ragged after a creature was just too fast, too well-hidden, or too strong. Marlon was numb to it all at this point––he had to be, it would make no sense to get so attached to strangers he’d most likely never see again. He was a lone adventurer anyways (except for Gil, but Gil didn’t really count as a stranger and could handle himself).

That being said, watching Levi nearly fall through the door to the Adventurer’s Guild, covered in slime and blood and clutching a sword that seemed disproportionately big in his hand, looking like hell, for the fourth time this week…

Yeah. Pretty hard to be numb.

_ “Levi,  _ for the love of–”

“–Mister Gil! I hit another one of the m-monster… monster– what are they called again?” The farmer paid no attention to the man behind the counter, and Marlon groaned.

“Gil can  _ wait,  _ you’re bleeding all over the floor! Just– just–” He cut himself off with a sigh, hobbling out from behind the counter. His leg was aching from standing in place for a few hours, but Marlon pushed through it nonetheless to throw one of Levi’s arms over his shoulder and partially carry him to the back. The farmer was squirming as best as he could in the iron grip, trying to wiggle free.

“But Mi-Mister Marlon, I need to talk with Mister Gil–” He stumbled, and Marlon’s grip on him tightened. “–need to talk with Mister Gil to make sure… make sure that…” The boy trailed off, evidently trying to remember just what he needed to make sure of. Marlon sighed, sending a look over to Gil. The other man had an exasperated smile on his face and gestured for Marlon to take Levi to the back, shaking his head. Marlon adjusted the boy once again and continued on his merry way through the door frame, letting Levi go to have him sit down on the edge of the bed. Levi was mumbling something incoherently and took Marlon’s directions without question, slumping backwards onto the bed. Marlon watched him from the corner of his eye as he pulled out medical supplies, making sure Levi wouldn’t fall off the bed as he swayed. Marlon’s frown felt like it had physical weight tied to it now, pulling down the corners of his mouth with a dull sort of ache. He pushed the feeling aside and knelt down beside the bottom bunk, slowly beginning to clean off the congealed mess of monster guts and human blood. Levi did what was probably his best to stay upright and still, but he winced every time Marlon hit a cut or bruise with the cloth. The older man stayed silent, unsure whether to be impressed by the farmer’s perseverance or disappointed that he had gotten this beat up for the umpteenth time this week. It wasn’t that Levi was weak––anyone who could be this stubborn and hold so much grit wasn’t weak by  _ any _ means. It was that Levi didn’t know how to stop, or when to stop, and the fact that he could continue to throw himself into fighting those monsters while knowing full well the risks and injuries that he constantly incurred was crossing the line from incredible to idiotic at this point. 

“...Mister Marlon?” Levi’s quiet voice threw him out of his musings. Marlon’s head snapped up, working eye scanning over the boy for any sign of pain or panic. Levi’s expression betrayed his exhaustion, eyes framed by dark circles and heavy eyelids and face almost sagging with the lack of sleep. Marlon cocked a brow questioningly.

“Yes, Levi? Is something wrong? I’m not letting you back out to see Gil until you’re bandaged and rested, you know.”

“I know…” The boy gave a crooked smile. “Wasn’t gon’ ask about that, don’t worr… worry.” He shifted, and Marlon took note of how his back cracked. “I was gonna…” He trailed off into a yawn. “Sorry, I haven’t been sleeping very well, and I’m really tired after today.”

“And the past week, I’m sure.” Marlon grumbled. Levi hummed in question. “You’ve been throwing yourself around in those mines for days now, Levi, I don’t know what you think you’re doing anymore.”

“..fighting monsters?” The farmer replied. Marlon let out a deep sigh.

“You’re incredibly lucky that I’m so patient with you, son.” Levi laughed, shaking his head tiredly. “What now?”

“I thought I’d escaped my overprotective family when I moved out here, but... I guess not.” Marlon shot him a look as he continued to grin.

“Well,  _ someone  _ has to take care of you since you don’t take care of  _ yourself.” _ He grumbled. Levi’s smile never wavered. “What are you even trying to do down there, Levi? Hitting the bottom of those things might just be impossible, you know.”

“I know, but if I keep… keep trying, I’ll find it soon enough.” Marlon grunted, finally realizing that the newest patch of “mud” he’d been scrubbing was really just a patch of Levi’s vitiligo. 

“Your determination is impressive, but your execution of all of that was frankly idiotic. Even the most hardened adventurers know when to take a break and sit down at the bar to swap stories instead of throwing themselves back into battle.” He shot a pointed look upwards and Levi scoffed.

“Wow, I can’t help... but think you’re implying something, to me. To me? Does that make sense?” Marlon stayed silent, wrapping the farmer’s left calf up with a few bandages. Might’ve been overkill, but the old man couldn’t help but lean towards the side of caution. The lapse in silence didn’t last for long before Levi broke it. “...but fine, I get your point.  _ But.” _ He forced out the last word, then fell silent again. Marlon continued his first aid efforts, skin crawling with impatience. How this boy could make him throw every bit of his ability to distance himself from others' pain was a mystery, but he could, and Marlon didn’t exactly enjoy the feeling of anxiety that Levi’s power created.

“...but?” He said. Levi cleared his throat, blinking blearily. Marlon’s eyes drifted over to the clock on the wall. Ten at night, and Levi had gotten up at six this morning and started working, knowing him. No wonder the boy was tired. 

“But,” Levi brought him out of his musings. “Since you say… say that, and  _ you’re _ a hardened adventurer, then that… that means that you need to swap stories with  _ me.” _ It was Marlon’s turn to scoff now.

“You left me worrying over  _ that?” _

“Well, I never asked you to worry about me…”

“Shh, shh, don’t be a smartass.” Levi giggled, voice cracking a bit. “Levi, if you want to swap stories, you’ll have to sober up and act nice.”

“Can’t sober up if I’m not drunk,” Levi responded, slurring his words anyways. Marlon muttered some choice phrases under his breath at the boy, which only lead to even higher-pitched giggling and Levi snorting a couple times. Marlon was failing to hide his own smirk at this point, shaking his head as he shakily stood up from the floor. 

“Are you done?” He sighed. Levi gave his best impression of an innocent look and Marlon groaned. “Come on, time for story-swapping. I need to keep you in one place for the night, because you are  _ not  _ walking back to the farm looking like this.” A few more stiff steps to the left to grab an extra chair, placing it down in front of the farmer and sitting down. His bad leg popped as he stretched it out, and he sighed contently. “You start, farmer boy. I’m sure you have more than enough tales to tell after all you’ve been through.”

* * *

Gil wheeled himself into the back room to find Marlon, slumped over and leaning against the wall, and Levi on his bunk, both seemingly dead asleep. He sighed, shaking his head with a small smile and moving his wheelchair silently around the room to fix up the shelves a bit. By the grace of his upper body strength and the last bit of cooperation his back had to offer, he’d gotten the medical kit packed back up and then put away, and wheeled himself back to pull the blankets Levi had kicked away off the floor. He was just about to move himself back out of the room when his wheel nudged the leg of the chair his friend was sitting on, and Marlon sat straight up. Gil held both his hands up, waiting for the other man to regain some sense of where he was. As Marlon’s eyes focused on him, his hands drifted away from the dagger he’d always hung on his belt and Gil allowed himself to exhale. Marlon offered him an apologetic smile and then looked back to Levi.

“...I’m sorry for having you give up your bed tonight.” He whispered. Gil shook his head, waving him off. “Levi is… he scares me sometimes.”

“I know he does.” Gil whispered back. “I know. What did you two talk about?”

“He told me the story of how he’d found a series of dwarf scrolls, how the man working the museum near town had bargained with him to trade them in for a translation guide to the dwarven language.” Gil gave a low whistle and Marlon finally cracked a genuine smile. “Smart boy. He had to fight god knows how many of those massive slimes to get them, and those Squid Kids– the floating heads, I’m sure you remember.”

“How could I forget.” Gil drawled back. Marlon chuckled.

“Yes, I suppose.” He paused. “I don’t… I don’t know if I regret doing what I did today.” Gil tilted his head. “You  _ know _ my policy about people and especially those brave enough to fight the creatures that go bump in the night. I would never go through the actions I did today with anyone else, I would point them in the right direction and send them on their way.”

“Levi is a child, it makes sense.”

“Levi is twenty-something, he’s not a child.” Marlon shot back, but the phrase had no actual bite to it. His eyes were still on Levi, watching the farmer snore.

“He’s relearning the world.” Gil sighed. “And you worry for him.”

“I  _ shouldn’t.” _

“You  _ should. _ He worries for us as well and you know it.” Marlon grunted, refusing to look at him. “Marlon. Let yourself care about someone for once in your life.”

“I could  _ lose him.  _ He’s not like you.”

“He’s not like  _ you  _ either, Mister High-and-Mighty, All Powerful Monster Fighter. You enjoyed tonight, admit it.” Marlon was silent. “You  _ did.” _

“...I did.” The other man sighed. Gil smiled.  _ “Don’t. _ I said I enjoyed talking with him, not that I cared about him, don’t you  _ dare.” _

“Alright, alright. Softie.” Marlon shot him a glare and his smile only grew. “He’ll be just fine, Marlon.”

“How are you so sure?”

“He’s got you to teach him. And to tell him bedtime stories.” Marlon rolled his good eye, making a shooing motion. 

“Goodnight, Gil.”

“I’m not wrong.”

“Good  _ night.” _ Marlon sighed. Gil figured he’d hit his limit with how far he could push the other man. He bowed his head, conceding, and moved his hands to the wheels of his chair. He started backing up slowly, cautious to not bump into anything or have his wheels squeak on the floor– “–maybe you are.” He stopped. Marlon was looking at him, looking as if the admission was giving him physical pain. “Maybe you’re right. I care about him.” Gil smiled, shaking his head as he wheeled himself out of the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Levi smile too.


End file.
